A couple who broke into a Harrogate flat using a crowbar and committed an “audacious” burglary have been jailed.

Luis Alberto Camargo Bolivar, 47, and his wife Jenny Suarez Rodriguez, 48, were today (February 11) sentenced at York Crown Court.

Both had previously admitted one offence of burglary at a hearing at York Magistrates Court on Boxing Day.

Adam Walker, prosecuting, told the court the named victim left his Springfield Avenue flat just after 9.30am on December 18 last year.

Just three hours later, his Ring doorbell captured the defendants entering his property.

Bolivar and Rodriguez, who both appeared via video link from custody, were also recorded on CCTV in the lobby of the building, while a witness saw the couple pushing a shopping trolley through the building.

The Ring doorbell continued to record the defendants for a further two hours, the court heard, and evidence of a crowbar being used to break into the property was later found.

Once inside, Mr Walker said, Bolivar and Rodriguez stole the victim’s safe, which contained high-value jewellery and £6,000 in cash.

The contents of the safe alone amounted to around £70,000, and contained items that are “sentimental” to the victim.

The Columbian defendants, who spoke through a Spanish interpreter, also stole a diamond-encrusted Blackberry phone, a £70,000 Patek Phillippe watch and Louis Vuitton luggage from the victim’s bedroom.

Mr Walker said the total value of the stolen goods is estimated to be between £160,000 and £165,000.

A neighbour saw the couple lifting a “large box” into a car parked near the property. The vehicle was then tracked by police using automatic number plate recognition, which led officers to an Air BnB in Batley. 

The defendants had booked the Air BnB under a false name, the court heard.

Police arrested the couple at the property just after midnight on December 23. Upon arrest, Bolivar told officers:

Bolivar, of no fixed abode, then handed police a pillowcase in which he had stored some of the stolen items.

Police also discovered latex gloves and a balaclava inside the property.

Mr Walker told the court the Patek Phillippe watch was recovered and the safe was found "intact" inside the car. However, he said it’s not clear if the Louis Vuitton luggage was located.

The defendants were arrested and taken to the police station. Both exercised their right to silence during interview.

Mr Walker added:

Mr Walker also said the material loss to the victim is “minimal” but said the court “cannot ignore this involved £165,000 worth of goods and sentimental items”.

Bolivar was previously convicted of burglary in 2009, whilst Rodriguez, of Caledonia Road in Kirklees, was convicted of two counts of shoplifting in 2024.

Defendants hope to return to Columbia

Ashleigh Metcalfe, defending, told the court she understands all the stolen items were recovered.

She said Bolivar “immediately accepted” his involvement in the burglary at the time of his arrest and, while they both remained silent during police interview, the defendants admitted the offence at the first opportunity at the magistrates court.

The court heard the couple still have family in Columbia, including their 30-year-old daughter, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Ms Metcalfe said: 

Bolivar and Rodriguez are struggling in custody, Ms Metcalfe told the court, because they speak little English.

“They have limited friends in the prison environment who they are able to speak to and understand, which makes them much more isolated than a normal prisoner”, she added.

Both defendants were visibly upset during the hearing. 

Sobbing as sentence passed

Judge Hickey said he had taken the the burglars’ early guilty pleas, their relationship, the language barrier in prison and their daughter’s serious illness into account when considering sentence, but ultimately described the burglary as “audacious, highly planned and professional”.

He added the offence "must have had psychological and emotional impacts on the victim". 

Passing sentence, Mr Hickey said he was “working on the basis all the items were recovered”, despite the prosecution being unsure, and ordered Bolivar to spend two years and eight months behind bars.

Rodriguez was sentenced to two years and four months in prison. She could be heard sobbing as the sentences were passed down. 

Mr Hickey added: